Highland Dance Problems

well i’m really sorry that i didn’t reply to this until now.

no i never did compete...when i was a kid starting out my parents didn’t believe in competition so they didnt let me compete and then when i was old enough to decide for myself i didnt really want to. i had no interest in trying to be better than anyone else. i did exams instead and that way i only was competing against myself.

anyway, you’re definitely not wasting her time or letting her down! im sure you’re fantastic. if you put in the time to practice there’s no way you could be letting her down. i think you should try competing. im sure it will boost your self esteem! do you do exams? 

It’s too bad to hear that you didn’t like highland, but understandable. Like any sport (or any extracurricular activity for that matter), if you don’t want to be doing it then you’re not going to like it! I know I personally had other extracurriculars that I quit because I hated them (hip hop, piano, softball). Highland was the one that I loved and I only stopped because I moved away to university! 

Oh my gosh this message has been sitting in my inbox forever because I forgot about it. Sorry!

Hmm...tips for better leaps...sounds like you're doing what you need to be doing by stretching and practising. Honestly leaps just come easier to some people than others. I have ridiculously tight hamstrings and I can't leap to save my life, so I'm probably not the best person to ask!

this one? :) 

Good for you! :D Are you liking it? 

How long have you been dancing for? :)

I don’t know if this helps, but one exercise that my old teacher had us do was stand with our foot on a half point in third position and beat the rear foot (like in a pas de basque) repeatedly for a certain amount of time, and then switch feet and repeat with the other foot. this was to practice strengthening of our half points so we could eventually do a pas de basque without our ankle bending or twisting as we beat. we also did the same exercise in an open position, as for open pas de basques. you can start on a bar to help with your balance, and eventually move off the bar. make sure you focus on getting your foot set up perfectly each time before you beat, there’s no use doing the exercise if it’s sloppy!

i did 11 years of dance and still never mastered the half point. i have beautifully shaped half points when i’m motionless but as soon as i try to beat my back foot, my ankle twists backwards. also when im dancing up to speed i usually default back to the ball by accident. sigh.

anyway, that’s basically the only thing i ever remember doing in class to work on half points…

I agree! I haven't seen many "trendy colours" because I don't compete or anything so I don't get much of a chance to see kilts, but I definitely know they're out there! When I was considering getting a kilt made new a few years ago, I remember lusting after a lime green tartan. I probably would've regretted that though. ;) I knew a few girls that had hot pink ones. THAT was interesting.

Heres all the advice that I can come up with:

Get one that has large hems so there’s room to let it out if you grow. You want it to last a long time!

When picking colour/tartan, choose one that you really like! You’re going to be wearing it a lot, and probably keeping it for a while, so maybe sure you like the colour! Also make sure that it compliments your skin tone and hair colour. 

Make sure you pick a tartan that will go well with one of the normal vest/jacket colours. It’s one of my pet peeves when someone’s vest/jacket doesn’t actually match their kilt! My current vest is black and it doesn’t match my green kilt (there are no black lines in the kilt, only dark green) but I had to buy it because I outgrew my green vest and couldn’t find another in the same colour. It drives me crazy that it doesn’t match!

Basically, the most important thing is making sure you like it. And, if it turns out you made the wrong choice, you can always sell it and buy a different one!